A palette of flavours at the National Gallery’s Smoke & Mirrors

GETTING to Smoke & Mirrors, the rooftop bar of the National Gallery Singapore, requires a bit of navigation. Once there, however, a panoramic vista of Singapore’s skyline unfolds, from Marina Bay Sands and the skyscrapers of the Central Business District, to the nearby Victoria Concert Hall by the Padang. 

After opening in 2015, Smoke & Mirrors embarked on its concept menu series titled “The Real Art of Drinking” in 2021.

This August, it launched the fourth iteration of this. Volume IV stands independent of its predecessors, but continues building on the concept of art, in line with its location atop one of the region’s biggest art collections.

In contrast to earlier volumes where drinks made reference to specific paintings, Volume IV’s drinks are themed simply by colour.

A multi-hued kaleidoscope is visible through a cut-out on the menu cover. When spread, the concertina-fold menu reveals that the vibrant design is made up of the layered designs of each single-coloured page.

The menu takes inspiration from a painter’s palette. The association is only “natural”, as ingredients are to mixologists what colours are to painters, said Wong Wee Siong, assistant head bartender and one of the menu creators.

“With this creative freedom, the 12 cocktails on our new menu draw inspiration from a multitude of sources, infusing not just local flavours but also those from beyond,” said Wong. 

The rum-based Milky Way, for instance, is inspired by the local dessert bubur cha cha, taking tipplers on an expedition through flavours such as purple sweet potato, ginger liqueur and longan.

Atop the purple drink, a gold-sprayed curl of white fungus evokes the image of its namesake: a star-filled galaxy in space. 

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Meanwhile, chocolate-brown The Golden Ticket is inspired by the British children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, featuring peanut butter-washed whiskey and dark chocolate liqueur.

In collaboration with Singapore chocolatier Janice Wong, each drink is garnished with a chocolate bar – in which 15 lucky guests may find a “golden ticket” to win a bottle of Michter’s Whiskey, in a homage to the book’s plot.

Drawing from a different cultural background is the green Forget Me Not, served in a Chinese teacup. It is inspired by the ancient Chinese folktale of Old Lady Meng, whose soup wipes out the memories of the dead before they reincarnate into the next life.

The spirit-forward, agave-based tipple offers a complex flavour profile: bittersweet bittergourd kiwi distillate, sour lime juice and savoury olive brine. 

Then there is the cheerful orange Peeling Good, a tropical burst inspired by the Jungle Bird classic cocktail. It is garnished with a slice of orange jelly, moulded in actual orange peel such that the whole orange is used in the making of this cocktail. 

Each cocktail menu volume runs for about a year. But Smoke & Mirrors is already planning how to close this year: with special drinks for New Year’s Eve, as it stands out as a “perfect spot” to watch fireworks, said Wong.

Milky Way

• 50 ml Diplomatico rum
• 50 ml purple sweet potato syrup
• 10 ml ginger liqueur
• 10 ml coffee liqueur
• 75 ml yogurt
• 50 ml cream
• 25 ml lemon juice
• 7.5 g fresh ginger
• 5 g dried longan